2022 August eBytes
Windows 12 in 2024? Microsoft Reportedly Changes OS Release Schedule
How to Fix the Most Annoying Things in Windows
Some iOS 16 Features Are Just Annoying. Here's How to Disable Them
Avoid the Scammers: 13 Tips for Public Wi-Fi Hotspot Security
Do You Need to Buy a 5G Phone in 2022? It's Complicated
How to Set Up Your Smart Home: A Beginner's Guide
Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, or Linux: Which Operating System Is Best?
Amazon Photos Still Has Free, Unlimited Storage: How to Manage, Share Your Pics
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Windows 12 in 2024? Microsoft Reportedly Changes OS Release Schedule
A Microsoft watcher claims Redmond is returning to a three-year major release system.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/windows-12-in-2024-microsoft-reportedly-changes-os-release-schedule
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How to Fix the Most Annoying Things in Windows
Windows 10 and Windows 11 are great OSes, but both have...issues. Here's how to fix some of the more irritating quirks with Microsoft's ubiquitous operating systems.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-fix-the-most-annoying-things-in-windows-10
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Some iOS 16 Features Are Just Annoying. Here's How to Disable Them
Improve your iOS 16 experience by ditching these four unlovable features.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/some-ios-16-features-are-just-annoying-heres-how-to-disable-them
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Avoid the Scammers: 13 Tips for Public Wi-Fi Hotspot Security
Public Wi-Fi hotspots can be a hacker's paradise. Following these basic security tips can mean the difference between safe surfing and an ID theft or data-loss nightmare.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/tips-for-public-wi-fi-hotspot-security
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Do You Need to Buy a 5G Phone in 2022? It's Complicated
The answer depends on a few things, like your budget.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/your-next-phone-really-doesnt-need-5g-yet
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How to Set Up Your Smart Home: A Beginner's Guide
From understanding connectivity protocols and voice assistants to picking the best products, setting up a smart home isn't as simple as you'd think. Here's where to start.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-set-up-your-smart-home-a-beginners-guide
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Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, or Linux: Which Operating System Is Best?
We compare the top desktop operating systems based on availability, interface design, and ease of use, plus the apps and games you can run on them.
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Amazon Photos Still Has Free, Unlimited Storage: How to Manage, Share Your Pics
Looking to back up photos online without shelling out for more storage? Prime members get unlimited storage with Amazon Photos. Here's how to get started.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-manage-and-share-your-photos-with-amazon-photos
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Links - News, Tips, & Downloads
Understand incognito mode and why it’s useful - Everyone is looking for a little privacy these days. Using your web browser’s incognito mode can certainly help, as it can conceal some online activity from third parties and erase your browsing history when you close out. But this mode doesn’t hide everything. Here’s what incognito mode really does... and what it can’t do.
How I revived three ancient computers with ChromeOS Flex - The Linux desktop that will transform the industry is ChromeOS.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-i-revived-three-ancient-laptops-with-chrome-os-flex
Need a New Laptop? We've Got You Covered - Is it time for a laptop refresh? CNET experts have you covered with a wide variety of products and deals. Shop top-rated laptops, best options for gaming and working and more.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/laptops
Here Are the 15 Laptops We Recommend - Top laptop picks across all categories, tested and reviewed by CNET editors.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/best-laptop
Laptops Under $500 From Lenovo, Acer and More
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/best-budget-laptop-under-500
Don't Lose Your Favorite Clips: How to Download Videos From Facebook - Saving copies of Facebook videos to your computer is relatively simple, but it requires a few steps.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-download-videos-from-facebook
Stay on Task: How to Silence Notifications in Windows With Focus Assist - Whether you're hard at work or relaxing with a game after hours, notifications for emails, texts, and more can be distracting. Here's how to tell Windows to leave you alone when you're busy.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/silence-notifications-with-windows-10s-focus-assist
Using your iPhone in high temperatures can cause permanent damage - Here's what not to do
Your gadgets don't like this heat either.
How to Safely Get Rid of All Your Old Phones - Almost half of mobile users have never traded in their devices, a recent study shows, in part due to privacy concerns. Mobile carriers could and should make the process easier and more secure.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-safely-get-rid-of-all-your-old-phones
Easy Collaboration: 35 Must-Know Tips for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides - From the Google Docs tweaks to the Google Sheets formulas that can keep your business afloat, we’ve got something for every user of the best online office suite.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/google-docs-sheets-slides-top-tips-tricks
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Ask a Question - Send any Tips & Downloads, Ask a Question, For Sale, or articles to: TheMiningPCC@gmail.com
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Q. From a PCC Member - How to get GPS coordinates from Google Maps?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. I did a Google search to see how to get the "google maps get gps coordinates". From the calendar search by name to find a location. Click the "Open in Maps" you can then:
On your computer, open Google Maps.
Right-click the place or area on the map. This will open a pop-up window. You can find your latitude and longitude in decimal format at the top.
To copy the coordinates automatically, left click on the latitude and longitude.
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Q. From a PCC Member - Related to clearing cache on iphone...the link has you go to Safari,
which I don't use on my iphone(not intentionally anyway). Is it worthwhile for me to do this clear cache process? I typically use Google and Firefox on my iphone?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. Not sure if you have changed your default browser from the default Safari to Chrome. You can do that in Settings. The default browser is used in many places like when you read email and click on a link.
It is good to delete cache to clear out old files and settings. You may have to log back into some sites the first time you use them. Below is info from the article on what is cache. The article tells you how to clear the Chrome cache and Firefox should be similar.
What is cache? Cache is the temporary storage of some data; parts of a website or image from the last time you visited, for example. It's content from a website that is stored on your phone during a browser session to help the browser perform faster the next time you visit that page. Cache data can slow down your phone's browsing performance since it takes up storage space in your device, so it's good to clear it out regularly.
Link to info to clear in Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/clear-browsing-history-firefox-ios
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Q. From a PCC Member - I just heard; haven’t installed it yet… https://www.darktable.org/2022/07/darktable-4.0.0-released/ I'm testing Darktable 4.0 now. Yes, it's extraordinarily powerful for developing RAW images, with more features than any commercial software I've tried. Includes a module called lighttable for previewing and organizing image libraries.
Not for casual users–looks like a proper replacement for Lightroom or Aperture.
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. I may have to try it again. I tried it years ago to replace Picasa when Google dropped support, but it lacked many of the easy to use features of Picasa. I still use and recommend Picasa for most people. Darktable is very powerful.
For advanced editing in Windows I use and recommend PAINT.NET or GIMP for other OSs. I think they both still get more downloads than Darktable. Darktable has very good tools to edit, but it lacked many features for organizing like assigning people/faces, rename files at any time (it only allows when you import), Albums, GPS assignment, and other EXIF data edits. Its tools fit well for a professional photographer who works on projects and jobs.
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